Mr. Chris Hazzard:

The Chairman is absolutely right and her point goes to the very heart of the wider issue, which is partition. I spoke before about the seesaw nature of the Border economy, which has been hugely damaging to communities both North and South. I say this as someone who represents a Border community. We co-operated recently with the Irish Government to secure European funding for greenways throughout the Border area. If that EU funding is gone, it is another deficit that simply will not be filled. The reality is that a British Chancellor will not give one iota of thought to funding greenways for communities in Border areas. It simply will not happen. The peripheral nature of life in the Border region will only get worse. Shoppers are coming one way this Christmas and last Christmas it was the other way around. That phenomenon has persisted for decades and has been hugely damaging.